increase gop districts ahead of the midterm elections. >> good morning, thank you for joining us. i am congresswoman lizzie fletcher and i'm proud to represent texas's seventh congressional district into chair the texas democratic delegation in congress. it's my honor and privilege today to welcome back to the great state of texas our house democratic reader, hakeem jeffries. today my colleagues and i stand alongside my fellow texas democrats in austin. we are grateful to the house democratic leader and senate democratic leader who are standing with us and to the committed texas democrats from across the state standing here this morning representing the true voices of texans and the

priorities of texans. thank you for your leadership and being with us today. before we begin, i want to express on behalf of all of us our deepest sympathies for the thousands of families grieving the loss is brought by the independence day floods in the hill country. our hearts are broken with yours. one month later, the first day survivors have had a chance to address lawmakers about the floods at a public hearing, we will be listening and texas democrats gathered here will do all we can to help in the recovery and rebuilding. but it is not lost on us that the hearing on this tragedy follows a week, a frenzied week with a rush of seven hearings

redrawing the texas congressional map. hearings where thousands and thousands of texans showed up in opposition and where republicans really said almost nothing and refused to let any of them see a map. i have been there and i can tell you, you can count on one hand the number of republicans who spoke up, who have testified or uttered a word in support for the redistricting. this effort is what is wrong with politics today and the people of texas know it. people get it -- elections have consequences, but so do your votes on the floor. the vote you take as a representative have consequences and politicians who don't want to face the consequences of their votes and voices cannot just change the rules of the game in the middle of it. it is wrong and texans know it. president trump knows that

people are seeing what his administration and the republican congress are doing and they hate it. taking health care away from 17 million americans is very unpopular. adding trillions of dollars to the national debt so they can transfer trillions of dollars in tax cuts to the wealthiest americans and perhaps the wealthiest americans ever to have lived and sticking us with the bill, very unpopular. hiding the epstein files, very unpopular. president trump can see the writing on the wall. so he's demanded a rigged map and he told governor abbott to make it happen. texans are in an ongoing crisis filled with grief and loss and instead, our leaders are focused not on relief but on redistricting. texas already has the most

racially gerrymandered map in the country and it's important to know that of their 38 congressional districts in the state with a majority minority population where the population is more than 60% minority, only 13 districts allow voters of color to regularly and consistently elect their candidate of choice. this new map cuts that number down to just eight. the map republicans put out yesterday, more than 10 million people will be in a new congressional district. more than two thirds of those texans that are moved to new districts are voters of color. the good news is, texans are not alone in this fight, we have this of port of people across the country because they see as we do how wrong this is.

today we have a tremendous fighter who has joined us in austin to demonstrate support for texas and texans. we are grateful for his leadership, and we are pleased to welcome him to austin. i will turn it to hakeem jeffries. [applause] >> good morning, it's an honor and privilege to be here in the great state of texas at the state capital. with so many distinguished leaders, members of the congressional delegation. tremendous fighters for the people of this great state along with such distinguished leaders in the state legislature of course led by leader wu and romero and all the different caucus leaders who are here with us today.

our message to the people of texas and the people of this great country is simple -- you deserve better. you deserve in america where hard work pays off. you deserve health care care that is affordable and available when you need it. you deserve a government that works for you. you deserve better. but that's not what's being delivered right now by the texas state government under republican leadership. donald trump ordered governor abbott and texas republicans to race back to austin for a special legislative session. why was that done? this special session should be

about lowering the high cost of living that afflicts the people of texas as well as people across america. it is not. it should be about fixing texas's broken health care system, were far too many women, children, veterans and seniors don't have access to health care they need to live a life of dignity and respect. it is not. this special session should be about cleaning up corruption in austin. so that a government dominated by republicans for the last 30 years might actually deliver for the people of this great state. it is not. this special session should be about fixing the broken energy grid that has left millions of texans vulnerable year after

year after year, particularly in the face of rising extreme weather events. it is not. in the face of great tragedy, children who drowned to death in the texas hill country, families whose lives have been shattered forever, this special session should be about relief, recovery and resiliency in the face of a state government that failed the people of the texas hill country but it is not. donald trump has ordered greg abbott and compliant texas republicans to race back to austin and have special session in order to rig the congressional map and undermine

the ability of texans to have a free and fair midterm election. that is wrong. you deserve better. the people of texas deserve better. that's why i'm thankful for the leadership of them embers of the texas congressional delegation and the texas state legislature who aren't fighting for themselves, unlike the other side of the aisle, they are fighting for a government that actually responds to the people of texas in a way that is designed to solve real-life everyday challenges. the people of texas deserve better. in this great country, our system that was gifted to us by

the framers of the constitution should be one where the people of texas are able to decide which elected officials have the ability and honor to represent them in washington. instead republican politicians want to choose their voters could that is wrong. it will undermine the quality of life of the people of this great state. it has been said the early days of the republic, that when the people fear the government, there is tyranny, but when the government fears the people, there is liberty. this fight is just beginning. and lead by the people standing behind me there is an ability for the people of texas to make

their voices heard, show up, stand up, speak up for what is right. for their opportunity to determine their own destiny, through the gift of democracy and free and fair elections. the only way that will be brought about is if together we are able to stop the effort to gerrymander in a way that also violates the voting rights act, the texas congressional map as part of their scheme. to rid the midterm elections could if anyone can do it, it's the people of the great state of texas. it is my honor to yield back. [applause] >> thank you so much. we will now hear from numbers of our congressional delegation, starting with the dean of our delegation. >> thank you. the courage of the state house

democrats and senators has a direct impact on the lives of fellow texans. a texas veteran that needs help, a small business that needs help with the sba or texas, will they go to the congressional office and in many times they will find the door is shut by that map. for texans impacted by a compliant republican congress, when they go to buy a tomato or avocado or in a few weeks when they go to buy a car or build a house, they will be paying the trump ear of texas this congress could have prevented. those who need health insurance who are working texans in three months go to sign up for the affordable care act, they will pay 75% more in premiums. most importantly of all is when we give all of the power of our government to one man and his

whims, whims that have caused even the appropriations process to keep the government operating because they fear what the jeffrey epstein check -- file might show about president trump and congress, when we place all power in one man and claim he has a monopoly on truth and we no longer need checks and balances, we have surrendered our democracy to autocracy. the weight of the future of our country, the lives of texans is on the shoulders of these legislators and we thank them for all they are doing to put a stop to this attempt to fix the election. thank you. >> next we will hear from congressman al green. >> thank you. and i think my colleagues who are here representing the state of texas as representatives and

senators. i think you because you are making a difference. i think you for your hospitality that you've shown us since we've been here. it means something to me to come to austin, texas and see you at work. i'm also proud of something. i'm very proud to be a democrat. i'm proud to be a democrat because democrats will stop the move to privatize social security. we just had a republican administrative official who has indicated the privatization of social security is on the table. i am a democrat. democrats own social security, we gave birth to it. i'm not gonna surrender, we are not going to surrender and allow social security to be

privatized. social security is needed. by the way, this is not something for minority people. democrats fight to protect social security i'm proud to be a democrat because democrats are fighting to protect their health care. we are going to continue to fight to protect your health care and i'm proud of what i did when i stood up before the president and told him, you don't have a mandate to eviscerate -- i didn't use that term then, but you don't have a mandate to eliminate medicaid. i want to save medicare and social security and am proud of this. i'm not ashamed to be a democrat on the front line to protect the needs of all of the people in the state of texas.

democrats are not just fighting so we can have republican opportunities or democratic opportunities, we are fighting to make sure all of the people in the state of texas are protected with good health care, good retirements and that includes social security, good education, and that includes everybody should have a good education, and we want to make sure that injustice does not take place in texas as it will under this map. this map is a gross injustice. dr. king reminded us that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. if this passes it will be an opportunity for injustice to move to the county level. it might move to various commissioners courts or city council level or school board or state reps or senates and not

just in texas but around the country. injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. finally, the president was being very clever when he sent his letter through his agent at the justice department indicating that racial gerrymandering had taken place in texas. who believes that? who believes the texas legislator and the texas senate drew maps so they could intentionally allow minorities to have seats, intentionally? the attorney general himself said that's not true. a prominent senator said the map with colorblind and it still is according to them. the president used that term

because he knew it would incite people. he wanted to incite people to believe that what he wanted done would be justified because minorities were somehow giving -- being given a privilege they shouldn't have. he was very clever but we are going to stand up against this and the truth of the matter is, somebody has to have the courage to say it is racism. unfortunately, we have gone to the point in this country where you can use racism against people of color but people of color cannot respond and say that's racism. if we do, you will not print it, you will not carry it. what you will do is allow the racist statement to prevail and what we try to do to fight it by indicating it is racist, you allow that to just be words that

evaporate into nothingness. i challenge you movers of the press. this is al green, i am the liberated democrat. i challenge you -- tell the truth. the world know president trump is using race and we are responding to it. i am a liberated democrat and i think you -- i thank you. [applause] >> next we will hear from representative joaquin castro. >> great to be back of the state capital, thank you two democratic leader jeffries for supporting texans and our state legislators doing incredible work to block what is an illegal power grab. i was a freshman here in 2023 when we left the state to go to oklahoma for four days to block

also illegal mid decade redistricting. this feels like déjà vu for me. knowing in congress and witnessing it again. when i testified last week to state legislators at their first hearing, i said what i believe is true, donald is using texas, he is using texas to protect himself. the state legislators here have to determine if they will do the business of texas and work on things like flood relief, making rent more affordable, childcare more affordable, making it easier for people to go to college and fruit senior citizens to be in nursing homes, if they will do the work everyday texans are concerned about everyday or if they will do donald trump's bidding. historically this body has had a strong independent streak to it. it has not taken its orders from presidents, democrat or republican. are these folks gonna be servile

and subservient to donald trump or will they stand up and protect texans. there is a lot at stake. black and brown communities will suffer the most, they are getting torn up across the state. as al alluded to, in the last few decades, the overwhelming majority of growth in the state of texas has come from latino and african-american communities. yet the number of seats drawn to serve those communities has stayed flat or shrunk. so there is racism to this. when i think about replacing five democrats, stealing five democratic seats and replacing those with five republican seats, for texans, i think we should be clear what that means. that means instead of five people who will stand up to protect social security, to protect medicare and health care, to protect a path to higher education for people in

this state, you will have five people who will vote against health care, against medicare, against social security, against going to college. that's the stark difference in what is at stake. i hope the legislature will do the business of texas and not take the orders of donald trump. [applause] >> next we will hear from congresswoman sylvia garcia. >> thank you. i also feel like it is a reunion being back here at the capital and as some of you served on the senate redistricting committee in 2013, this whole thing is like déjà vu for me. i especially want to thank leader jeffries for being here. i can tell you this man cuts to the heart with honor and integrity in anything he does. we have the distinct honor of

searching as impeachment managers in trump impeachment one and they should've just listened to us and we could've avoided this. [laughter] i want to recognize my senator, the chair of the senate democrats and my friend from houston. jean wu is the head of the house democrats. this is bigger than texas. we always try to say texas is big and we like to brag we are big and this time it is a big, ugly mess and it will result in a lot of hardship and a lot of setbacks in many communities in the voice in congress. i am a target. they targeted four, four minority urban districts and they were very clear on dismantling their districts and they've succeeded in doing that. i'm going to talk about my

district a little bit to tell you them -- tell you what they are doing. my district is 29 and we are 75% latino with about 65% voter citizen population. they dismantled it and now we are down to 43% hispanic citizen voting population, from 65 to 43. they stole from his area, combined with my other half and created a second one just about 50% hispanic voter population. they are going to brag, we created two hispanic districts, but you've got to look at the numbers you got to look at what is really going on with the data. they can give you 100% latino population but if all you will have 50% that is citizen voting age, it doesn't really help you much. they attacked us and they are

doing almost the exact same thing, trying to silence the voices of the people who need to be heard. donald trump, what i call the felon in the white house, is wanting to stay in power. this is a pure power-play and i can tell you i'm so proud of all of these democrats behind me who are doing what great texans do, stand up and fight for texas. i can tell you i for one, as a texan, would never want a con man from new york telling a texan what to do. we need to fight back hard and we must press on. [applause] >> next and last we will hear from congressman greg cassara and then we will take questions. >> thank you.

and thank you leader jeffries for being here and everyone fighting against this horrific plan. donald trump is the most corrupt president in american history and ken paxton is the most corrupt politician in texas history. these two men teaming up to try to ram through this ridiculous and illegal gerrymandering plan. it's the same old bs, corrupt politicians having a scheme to rig the rules of our -- the roles of our election so they can drown out voter voices and remain unaccountable. we are not to have it on our watch, not on the watch of these brave texas democrats and not on the watch of my congressional colleagues, not on the watch of leader jeffries feared voters are rightfully upset. housing prices keep going up, the price of medicine keeps

going up, that donald trump is taking your money and handing it to his rich, donor friends. this radical and illegal redistricting scheme is all about donald trump not being held accountable for his crimes, for his corruption and for his lies. we are not going to have it, we are not going to stand for this. just like congresswoman garcia, of course they have mingled so many of our districts, they are trying to suppress the voices of voters of color by merging the majority parts of the 34th -- 35th and 37th district in central texas, they are not doing something that has to do with myself or congressman doggett. they are trying to silence the voices of voters in central texas and if donald trump is allowed to suppress the votes of central texas voters, he wants

to take that across the country. that's what we are here to fight against. i have enormous confidence after leader jeffries meeting with all of us last night that texas democrats are ready to show the country what a real fight looks like. the bad news for donald trump is texas democrats are not scared of a fight. we are ready to use every tool available and make sure people all over the country push back against this illegal and corrupt scheme. because texans deserve leaders that will look out for them in disasters, not try to steal taxpayer money and handed to their friends. texans deserve leaders trying to expand health and not take it away. we are in for this fight. i'm so proud of the democrats in the texas house and senate leading us in the charge.

thank you. >> i made a snafu a moment ago, i did not acknowledge leader jeffries and given he's my leader i want to correct that. thank you for coming to texas, your presence makes a difference. >> now we will take questions. >> [indiscernible] texas is behind the curve in [indiscernible] how is this different? >> the texas congressional map is already gerrymandered for a host of reasons and that litigation is currently in court and we believe the three-judge panel will likely decide the current map violates the voting

rights act because it is undermining the ability of communities of color, led by the latino community, to elect a candidate of their choice. each state and whether it is in compliance with the law has to be evaluated based on the demographics of that state. when you evaluate the democrats -- and demographics in the state of texas, the current map violates the law. this will double and triple done on the extreme racial gerrymandering that is silencing the voices of millions of texans . >> [indiscernible]

>> i have great confidence in the texas democrats in the house and senate to stand up and fight in the best interest of the people that they represent. all across america, we've seen corporations bend the knee, law firms have been to the knee, colleges and universities have been to donald trump. texas democrats will not bend the knee. they will stand up for the people. [applause] >> [indiscernible] what is different? >> i'm here to make clear as

house democratic leader in partnership with the texas congressional delegation that is not simply the case that help is on the way, help is here. we stand with texas democrats on behalf of fighting for the quality of life issues around the economy and health care and housing and combating corruption that are important to the people of texas. texas democrats understand if republicans are allowed to gerrymandered this congressional map, the quality of life of the people of texas will continue to be undermined. donald trump and house republicans passed this one big ugly bill that rips away health care for millions of people, including in texas. it ends medicaid as we know it here in texas, steals food from

the mouths of seniors and veterans here in texas. it makes it harder for the people of texas to get a high quality education here in this great state. all of these issues are at stake and fighting for a congressional map that gives the people of texas the ability to choose their elected officials as opposed to what's happening with the attempt to gerrymander the map and allow texas politicians on the republican side to choose their voters. >> last question. >> [indiscernible]

>> i was just going to say there are a lot of ways to fight but one of the most important things is people need to know it's happening. don't forget governor abbott just what this on the call for the special session after he called it in the first place, he snuck it in in the dark of night and rushed through hearings where thousands of people showed up to testify and hadn't seen a map and now they've called hearings for this friday and they are going to take public testimony as far as we know or maybe one day and that is it. the most important thing we can do right now is let people know it's happening because people across our state hate what is happening. republicans and democrats alike. there was a republican that testified in houston he didn't want to do it. texans see what's being done and they don't like it and they are not going to take it. number one is we are using our voices to make sure our

constituents and people across the state no matter who their member of congress is, know who was fighting for them and their ability to have a say, for their vote, to have a say in elections. one more important statistic, it's important to know that in texas, more than 60% of the population is minority and yet anglo voters control 65% of the congressional seats, they get to choose who goes to congress. when leader jeffries said the map is already unconstitutional and being challenged in court, we already think 13 isn't enough and now they are reducing the voices of minority communities. that should matter to every texan no matter who you vote for. we should care about the rights of texans to have our say and let texans make decisions, not donald trump. that's one of the most important things and you are important in that process in making sure you are talking about it and people across the state no and people

across the country are watching what we do, so that's a very important and i think everybody who is standing here and our colleagues who can physically be in austin today who are using their voices and those who are here but somewhere else in the capital, texas democrats are standing up and speaking out and fighting for the rights of all texans. >> it's important for us to make clear to the people of texas that the effort to undermine their ability for a free and fair election to occur will hurt their quality of life. democrats, independents and republicans alike. this will hurt your quality of life and our message to the people of texas is you deserve better. from your government, which should be focused on solving problems, not simply following

orders from donald trump, who knows he doesn't have a track record of accomplishment he can sell to the voters. in the midterm elections. >> are you urging texas democrats to nash -- that may be the only nuclear option -- >> first and foremost we have to make clear to the people of texas what is taking place because it's unacceptable, unconscionable and un-american and as elected officials we have that responsibility. it's not something we can just brush aside. there are 50 states in america and i am in texas for a reason. these legislators are standing up, these numbers of congress are standing up and communicating to the people of texas what is occurring right now, in the middle of the summer at a special session and we will make clear that we are going to do every thing possible to

support the texas legislators as they consider the best ways to push back. it's an all hands on deck moment and all options should be on the table to protect the people of texas. but texas democrats will be the ones to decide that. we will fight them politically, we will fight them governmentally, we will fight them in court, we will fight them in terms of winning the hearts and minds of the people of texas and beyond. texas democrats are going to show up and stand up and speak up for what is right for the people of texas and showing courage and conviction and character in doing that. we will see what happens the next few weeks but one thing i know, texas democrats are fighting for the people. >> thank you all.

we are finished here, thank you very much.